How do researchers gain access to psychedelics?

Researchers often get psychedelics through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which maintains a catalog of drugs –including MDMA, ibogaine, psilocybin, and other hallucinogens – that researchers can request.1, 2 Through its Drug Supply Program, the NIDA provides researchers with substances that are either unavailable, difficult to obtain, or very expensive to purchase.3   To obtain substances through the NIDA, researchers must follow a stringent process that entails submitting a Request Packet that includes, among other things, study details, the principal investigator’s curriculum vitae, proof of registration with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and information relating to research protocols.

Footnotes

1. Hasty, M., (2022, September 14). How Studies Get Psychedelics: A Comprehensive Guide to Clinical Trials. Psychedelic.support. https://psychedelic.support/resources/how-studies-get-psychedelics-a-comprehensive-guide-to-clinical-trials/

2. National Institute on Drug Abuse (2015 March). Research Resources: Drug Supply Program Catalog. https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/ndspcat24thedmarch2015.pdf

3. National Institute on Drug Abuse (2015 March). Research Resources: Drug Supply Program Catalog. https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/ndspcat24thedmarch2015.pdf